Britain’s Rising Interfaith Marriages

OnIslam & Newspapers

The growing phenomenon reflected a third generation independent Muslim women who appear to be challenging their religious boundaries.

LONDON – With a rising population of Muslims in the UK, the number of interfaith marriages deviating from the faith’s traditional norms has surged in recent years, increasing concerns over an unlikely bonding between Islamic culture and British identity.

"We hear over and again: 'I've met this non-Muslim guy at university or work who I feel compatible with and he's not going to stop me from practicing my religion'," Heather Al Yousuf, a Christian married to a Shia Muslim, told Al Jazeera on Friday, December 28.

"None have told me: 'I'm giving up my faith,' because they do not feel their identity would be under threat by marrying a non-Muslim."

"Almighty God would have revealed explicit directives if Muslim women were not allowed to marry outside the faith.

"As Muslim men are entitled to marry women from the People of the Book who are not Muslim [Surah al-Maidah 5:5], the same right must be afforded to Muslim women as Islam is a gender-equal religion."

British Muslims are estimated at nearly 2.5 million.

The 2001 census suggests the number of interfaith marriages at 21,000, but demographers believe the figure is considerably higher.

Most religious scholars agree that Islam permits Muslim men to marry "women of the book" - Christians or Jews - thus expanding the number of potential partners to choose from.

Muslim women, on the other hand, are forbidden to marry a non-Muslim unless her partner converts to Islam, say purists. Some men nominally convert to Islam in order to appease their partner's family.

Tackling the problem, a new initiative by the interfaith organization Christian Muslim Forum, led by senior Muslim imams and Christian ministers, have recognized the rise in such marriages.

After consulting with hundreds of couples, they have listed a series of guidelines calling for a softer approach to interfaith marriage.

Although stopping short of endorsing interfaith marriage, the religious figures of the Christian Muslim Forum, have encouraged counseling for such couples and oppose forced conversion as a condition for marriage.

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